Dear Kim; I attended “The Curious Women” on Sunday, which I enjoyed exceedingly. Two items: 1- I have a libretto that was sold at the MET during the run of this opera (with a great many other obsolete works). 2- I suppose that you know (but do you?) that the “La Biondina” interpolation is actually a concert aria by Ferdinando Paer(1771-1833).I have listened to it at least 300 times, being one of my favorite pieces. It has numerous repeats, and each time the fioritura becomes more elaborate. The melody only is also used in the film “Roman Holiday” after the water scene. I would like to share the recording with you, but all of the clones have disappeared. On You Tube, the single entry has alsodisappeared. The only recording listed is the one I have, by Opus 111 with Olga Pasychnick, soprano. This has to do with replication of a concert given in Warsaw in 1830 by Frederic Chopin. I used to keep a tape that included “La Biondina” in my car, and I listened to it obsessively; now I have a CD player, and the tape is not in sight. Renee Goldin
Dear Kim; I attended “The Curious Women” on Sunday, which I enjoyed exceedingly. Two items: 1- I have a libretto that was sold at the MET during the run of this opera (with a great many other obsolete works). 2- I suppose that you know (but do you?) that the “La Biondina” interpolation is actually a concert aria by Ferdinando Paer(1771-1833).I have listened to it at least 300 times, being one of my favorite pieces. It has numerous repeats, and each time the fioritura becomes more elaborate. The melody only is also used in the film “Roman Holiday” after the water scene. I would like to share the recording with you, but all of the clones have disappeared. On You Tube, the single entry has alsodisappeared. The only recording listed is the one I have, by Opus 111 with Olga Pasychnick, soprano. This has to do with replication of a concert given in Warsaw in 1830 by Frederic Chopin. I used to keep a tape that included “La Biondina” in my car, and I listened to it obsessively; now I have a CD player, and the tape is not in sight. Renee Goldin